1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus incorporating the same, and more particularly, to a fixing device that fixes a toner image in place on a recording medium with heat and pressure, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus incorporating such a fixing device.
2. Discussion of the Background
Electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, such as copiers, facsimile machines, printers, or multifunction printers having at least one of copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile functions, typically form an image on a recording medium according to image data. Thus, for example, a charger uniformly charges the surface of an image carrier; an optical writer emits a light beam onto the charged surface of the image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier according to the image data; a development device supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier to make the electrostatic latent image visible as a toner image; the toner image is directly transferred from the image carrier onto a recording medium or is indirectly transferred from the image carrier onto a recording medium via an intermediate transfer member; a cleaner then collects residual toner not transferred and remaining on the surface of the image carrier after the toner image is transferred from the image carrier onto the recording medium; finally, a fixing device applies heat and pressure to the recording medium bearing the toner image to fix the toner image on the recording medium, thus forming the image on the recording medium.
Such a fixing device may include a fixing roller and a pressing roller pressing against each other to form a fixing nip therebetween. As a recording medium bearing a toner image passes through the fixing nip, the fixing roller applies heat to the recording medium to melt the toner image and fix it on the recording medium.
The image forming apparatus may include a conveyance guide board which supports the recording medium just before the recording medium goes into the fixing nip. The conveyance guide board is provided just before the fixing nip, such that the recording medium goes into the fixing nip while contacting the conveyance guide board.